Delinquency Rate Hits All-Time High for CMBS

A surge in maturities for troubled loans has pushed the delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities to an all-time high of 10.04% for May, according to a loan-research service.

That’s the first time the rate passed the 10% mark, fed largely by five-year loans that were made in 2007 — when standards were at their weakest — and are now coming due, according to Trepp LLC. Landlords have had difficulty paying these off given that standards and values are far more stringent now, with more properties falling into default. (Loans are delinquent when at least 30 days past due.)

Tens of billions of commercial-property loans that were securitized have run into trouble in recent years, as a drop in rents and values during the downturn pushed many landlords into trouble, unable to pay off their debts.

Even as the commercial-property market across the U.S. slowly recovers, more loans are falling into trouble because leases made during times when rents were higher are coming due, and because mortgages are reaching their maturity dates, with property owners unable to find new loans to replace them.

The rate of delinquent loans, up from 9.8% in April and 9.68% in March, has remained relatively steady above 9% for well over a year, increasing recently due to the 2007-vintage maturities. Currently $59 billion in CMBS loans is past-due, according to Trepp.

That’s not expected to continue for much longer. Most of those loans were made in the first half of 2007, so maturities — and defaults — should slow in the last six months of the year, Trepp said.